Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is urging Vincentians here and abroad to be calm about the recent issue with the removal of coral reef from Indian Bay.
A public notice for the removal was published in the Searchlight Newspaper on July 2nd, which stated that Raffique Dunbar, a hotel investor, made an application to the Physical Planning and Development Board to remove the coral reef from the beach area.
Executive Director of the SVG Environment Fund Louise Mitchell and other environmentalists and citizens strongly opposed the application.
In a recent telephone interview with SVGTV News, Mitchell said the idea for the application is to remove the coral reef and replace it with imported sand, and build a barrier reef that is made out of concrete blocks across the beach area.
At the opening ceremony for the Barroullie Smart Health Centre on Friday, Prime Minister Gonsalves said that this problem has aroused discussions locally, regionally and international. He said persons should not worry because there is a planning board that will determine whether or not the project can be done in accordance to the law.
The prime minister said that the government has been putting things in place to protect the coral reefs in SVG and will not allow anyone to destroy them.
Prime Minister Gonsalves said that the procedure of such application has to be published to inform the public and persons can object. He however noted that the objection to the application is not being done in a civil manner.
